Dreamscapes
by Allie351
Summary: Merrick's been having nightmares, who is there to comfort him after those nightmares?
1. Chapter 1

**Dreamscapes**

**Summary: Merrick's been having nightmares lately and who is there for him to turn to? None other than Cole. This idea randomly popped into my head last night while I was at a hockey game of all places. In order for this story to work out, Cole and Merrick are roommates on the Animarium. **

_"You have to destroy me, it's the only way to get rid of the curse."_

_"We can't destroy you, you are one of us."_

_"Before long I won't be, the wolf mask will have taken me over completely. Destroy me now, it's the only way!"_

_"Alright. So long Merrick, our old friend." _

_He saw them forming a circle around him, their sabers meeting in the middle until a beam of light emitted and a scream pierced the air._

"Noooo! Please, just destroy me, please."

Cole Evans was startled out of a sound sleep where he'd been dreaming about his own parents when he heard Merrick's scream. Sighing, he propped himself up onto his elbows and glanced over at the other man; they went through the same thing every night. He pushed himself off the bed and went to stand over Merrick, gently shaking him awake. "Merrick, wake up."

"No, destroy me, please just do it." Merrick whimpered again.

"Merrick, wake up, it's Cole." Cole repeated, gently shaking him again.

"Huh? Where am I?" Merrick asked, clearly confused as he focused on Cole.

"On the Animarium where you've been for awhile." Cole told him. "You were having that nightmare again, Merrick. The nightmare about the ancient warriors imprisoning you as Zen-aku."

Merrick propped himself up on his elbows and ran a hand through his hair, his eyes meeting the other man's. "Oh." was all he said. They'd been happening more frequently lately and nothing he did could stop the nightmares from coming night after night. He was starting to feel sorry for Cole; the red ranger was the one sharing a room with him and when Merrick woke up screaming from his nightmares, so did the red ranger. Cole never complained though, which amazed Merrick, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to handle something like this all the time.

"Merrick, listen." Cole said. "I used to have nightmares about my parents all the time; it was the same thing all the time, I saw them being attacked but I couldn't see who they were being attacked by. What eventually helped me was to block out all the bad memories and focus only on the good memories, what I could remember about the happy times with my parents, which wasn't really much since I was only a year old when they died. You should try just focusing on the good times, before you picked up the Wolf Mask; remember all the times you spent with Princess Shayla and the other warriors."

Merrick sighed and shook his head. "It doesn't work, I've tried it Cole, trust me. I've tried everything, nothing seems to work."

Cole sat back against the wall on his own bed, his arms folded across his chest in the way that indicated he was thinking. He suddenly surprised the Lunar wolf ranger by opening his arms and indicating the other man to join him.

Merrick frowned. "Cole, what are you doing?"

Cole smiled. "Holding you, or trying to anyway. If it'll help us both get some sleep then I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Come on Merrick; when I was kid the head of the tribe that took me in used to always take me in his arms every time I had a nightmare; he'd wrap his arms around my waist and talk softly in my ear, soothing me until I fell back to sleep, it always used to help."

Merrick wasn't so sure about that, especially considering the way he felt about Cole but he couldn't tell the other man that. Sighing, he got up and moved over to the other man's bed, scooting close to him. He suddenly felt the red ranger's strong arms wrapping around his waist and for a split second he couldn't breathe as his spine tingled at the warmth of the other man's arms around him.

Cole rested his head on Merrick's shoulder and ran his fingers through the other's man hair. "Just sleep, Merrick. Forget that I'm even here. Focus on the good and not the bad." he whispered in his ear.

Merrick closed his eyes and tried to block out everything but the feel of Cole's arms wrapped around his waist and his head on his shoulder.

After making sure the other man was asleep, Cole smiled softly and shifted so that both men was lying on the bed and wrapped his arm around Merrick's shoulder. "Good night." he whispered, placing a slight kiss on the man's forehead before closing his own eyes and falling back to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys. I had originally only intended for this to be a one-shot but so many people demanded that I continue it so your wish is my command. **

**Also a big thanks goes out as always to my beta, Carla. Girl, I'd be lost if it wasn't you for doing last minute beta's for me all the time. Many many thanks to you. **

The next morning saw the sun shining bright and the birds chirping. The beauty of nature was the one thing Cole loved about living on the Animarium, anytime something got him down he would go hike through the woods or go up to the cliff and talk to the Wild Zords and they always made him feel better. Cole was very in tune with the world around him. He yawned and and glanced outside. By the way the sun was hanging in the sky Cole would guess that it was still pretty early, not even 8:00 yet. He doubted anyone else would be up. Glancing down at the bed, he smiled to see Merrick still sound asleep. He wished there was something he could do to take the other man's nightmares away, he hated waking up and seeing the pain in his eyes night after night.

Merrick groaned and rolled over, opening one eye to see Cole standing by the window. "You always rise with the sun?"

Cole chuckled. "I have since I was a kid. Maybe it has something to do with growing up in the jungle but I seem to automatically rise with the sun." he turned and smiled at the other man. "Come join me for a walk, Merrick."

Merrick frowned. "Are you nuts? It's not even completely light yet."

"I know," said Cole, smiling. "This is the best time to take a walk and enjoy the beauty of nature. I know you're a nature man, Merrick. From some of the things Princess Shayla has told us about what the two of you used to do, I know you enjoy nature almost as much as I do."

Merrick sighed and dragged himself out of bed. "Alright, if it'll get you to quit asking, I'll go." he said, pulling his jacket on over his shirt.

Cole smiled. "I knew you would anyway. You can hear the call of nature just as I can, Merrick, it's pulling you toward it."

Merrick shook his head in amusement. He wasn't sure what it was about the red ranger but Cole was right, Merrick had always loved nature himself. Every morning before the final battle he'd go out and play his flute while Princess Shayla would sing about the beauty of nature. They attracted many of the wild zords to listen to them but the deer zord in particular always loved to listen to them play. Even before he'd been freed from Zen-aku's hold, on the nights the full moon had allowed him to be his human self he'd just sit and enjoy the beauty of nature. Maybe it was why he had saved the wolf pup that night it had jumped in front of him. "So where are we headed?"

"No place in particular." Cole told him, smiling as they headed out. "Just enjoy yourself Merrick."

He would definitely enjoy himself, Merrick decided. As long as the red ranger was with him. He glanced over at Cole who was walking with his eyes closed and humming softly to himself. It amazed him how in tune the other man was with his surroundings, even Merrick wasn't that in tune with his surroundings. At times he almost thought the other man was tuning out everything around him. Glancing around him he noticed they were coming upon the lake. "Cole?"

"Hmm?" the red ranger responded, opening his eyes to look at the Lunar ranger.

Merrick sighed; how could he tell the other man how he really felt. He was afraid of rejection, he would admit it. Ever since he had first laid eyes on jungle boy he'd wanted to confess how he felt but he was afraid of what Cole's reaction would be. He smiled slightly. "Just wanted to know if you were still with me, you looked like you were spacing out."

Cole chuckled and shook his head. "Nah." he said. "Just trying to get in tune with nature. Want to go for a swim?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Merrick told him, taking his jacket off and breaking into a run, then diving into the lake. "Come on."

Laughing, Cole broke into a run and followed the lunar ranger. Suddenly he felt himself being pulled in but when he looked, Merrick was nowhere to be seen. Before he could stop himself, Cole felt himself being pushed into the lake.

Merrick glanced up as soon as he heard the splash, a smile gracing his face when he realized Cole was finally joining him. He frowned suddenly when he saw Cole struggling to keep his balance before being shoved in by what appeared to be an invisible force. "Cole?" he called out, his voice echoing over the water. No answer. After a couple minutes without his fellow ranger resurfacing, Merrick started to get worried. He ducked under and swam a little way until he caught of glimpse of red at the bottom of the lake. Quickening his paces, Merrick swam over to him and scooped the red ranger up in his arms, making his way towards the surface where he ran to the shore and gently laid Cole on the ground.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks again to my wonderful beta who I would be lost without. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Once again, please read and review, they keep an author going.**

**Disclaimer: I didn't do one last chapter and I try to do one at least in one chapter of a story. Everyone should know by now I do not own the Power Rangers, Saban, Disney and other amazingly talented people own the rights to the show, I am just borrowing them for entertainment purposes. **

"Merrick, what happened?" Princess Shayla asked the minute Merrick arrived back on the Animarium with Cole in his arms.

"We were going to go for a swim in the lake and Cole fell in. It was almost as if some invisible force pushed him in. When he didn't resurface I swam down to find him and found him at the bottom of the lake." Merrick explained as he laid the red clad ranger down on the bench that Danny and Max had just cleared for him.

"A new org, perhaps?" Max questioned, turning to Princess Shayla.

"It could be," the Princess responded. "But I have never heard of this org, if it is indeed an org. Are you sure you did not see anyone, Merrick?"

The lunar wolf ranger shook his head. "Nobody." he told her. "I could have missed them as I was underwater and wasn't looking at the time, but when I saw him fall I did not see anyone on the bank, unless they were able to run into the woods really fast without drawing attention to themselves."

Princess Shayla frowned as she turned to the unconscious ranger on the bench. "Well, Cole appears to have hit his head on a rock or something after he fell and may have a slight concussion. We'll keep an eye on him throughout the day and see if anything changes. Merrick, why don't you go ahead and take him to his bed, he will probably be more comfortable there."

"I'll start breakfast while you're doing that." Alyssa spoke up, as she took the apron from Danny and set about making pancakes and eggs for breakfast.

Nodding, Merrick picked up the red ranger and carried him to their room, laying him on the bed then sitting down next to him. Maybe now, with the other man out like a light, Merrick could get his feelings out. He was never good at telling people how he felt but maybe now was the time to start. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I've been wanting to tell you this for awhile now Cole but I was afraid. I guess you could say I am still afraid. Afraid of rejection, afraid of how you and the others will look at me. But what do I have to afraid of what now; you're unconscious, it's not like you can really reject me when you can't even hear me." he said. "You may have even already noticed it, you're very perceptive Cole so I wouldn't be surprised if you have. I suppose I'll stop rambling and just get it out. I like you Cole, you have no idea what you do to me. Ever since I first laid eyes on you, I couldn't help myself. I tried to deny it but the more you pushed me to work side by side with you I couldn't hide my true feelings and I had to be honest with myself but more importantly I had to be honest with you." He leaned down and placed a kiss on the man's forehead. "What you did for me last night Cole was something that nobody's ever done for me before. I've been alone for so long, I'm used to being on my own. I know you can't hear me but I needed to get this out now before I chickened out again. Maybe now I'll have the courage to tell you when you're actually awake. Sleep now Cole, you're going to be okay, Princess Shayla will make sure of that." with that, he stood up and walked back out to see the group just sitting down to the breakfast that Alyssa had cooked.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I had hoped to get another chapter or two out yesterday but my muse seemed to have suddenly ran away and my plot bunny went and burrowed itself in a hole after I refused to let it write another story. But alas, I have managed to dredge up another chapter for you and I hope you enjoy it. Credit goes to my girl Carla who helped me come up with the idea for this chapter. **

"Come on ranger, is that all you've got?" The Nightmare Org chided, twirling the chains around in the air as if they were a lasso then tossing them around Merrick.

Merrick struggled against the chains, gritting his teeth from behind his helmet as he finally managed to break free. "Lunar cue!" he cried, taking a swipe at the org.

The nightmare org just laughed. "Is that all you've got?" he asked again. "Tsk tsk lunar ranger, I thought I knew you better than that. Let's see how you deal with this." The org then started juggling three balls in the air over his head, tossing each one at Merrick which on impact, sent him flying backwards into the nearest tree. "How do you like that?"

"I don't." Merrick responded through gritted teeth, jumping down from the tree. He was about to launch an attack when a blast came from out of nowhere. He turned to see Cole riding in.

"I don't think so Org." Cole called, skidding the bike then jumping off of it. "Get away from him."

"Oh how lovely, you have come to join your friend." The org laughed. "No matter; I'll destroy you too." He twirled the chains around his head like a lasso again but before he could them around the other ranger, he was gone. The org twirled around in confusion. "What? Where did you go?"

"Hey, behind you." Cole called. "I guess you're not as smart as you thought you were. Once again, the human outsmarts the org; one would wonder why you guys haven't given up by now."

"We will never give up until Master Org rules the world!" the Nightmare org called.

"Suit yourself." Cole said, grabbing his crystal saber from his belt and taking a swing at the org.

"You think that pathetic little thing is going to save you?" the org laughed. "Try this one for size." Suddenly a sharp sword appeared in the org's hand. Before either ranger could blink the org swung the sword, aiming it straight for Cole's heart. Before Merrick's eyes the org plunged the sword into Cole's heart.

"COLE!!! NOOOO!!" Merrick screamed, jolting awake and immediately glancing over to the red ranger's bed, breathing a sigh of relief when he found the red ranger still unconscious from his earlier fall into the lake. "That was extremely – odd." he breathed. He swore that Cole had somehow entered his dream but when he glanced over at the bed again, the red ranger was still unconscious. Was his sleep-deprived mind just playing tricks on him? No, he decided. There was another ranger in his dream and he knew that it was Cole. He just had to find out WHY Cole had entered his dream and what it had meant.

Laying his head back, Merrick tried to go back to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in chapters; unfortunately Spring Break is over and I am back at school so I had to wait a couple days to get the next chapter out. This chapter just sort of wrote itself so I'm really hoping it's okay. Also, this chapter hasn't been beta'd so any mistakes you come across are mine and mine alone. Thanks again for the lovely reviews everyone:)**

"So you're telling me that Cole was in your dream?" Princess Shayla repeated, looking inquiringly at Merrick.

The lunar ranger nodded. "Yes." he repeated. "Though I'm not quite certain how Cole got into my dream to begin with, especially while he is still unconscious from that concussion."

Princess Shayla was quiet for a second then turned to Merrick thoughtfully. "Perhaps he was trying to tell you something. Or you were trying to tell him something." she suggested.

Merrick frowned. "What do you mean, Princess?"

"Oftentimes our subconscious tells us things that we can't say in consciousness." Princess Shayla responded. "Think on that, Merrick." and with that she walked away, leaving him to his thoughts.

Merrick frowned deeper. What on Earth was Princess Shayla trying to tell him. Did she know what he'd said to Cole the previous night? How could she possibly, unless she'd been listening in? That's when it dawned on him. Merrick paled significantly at the thought; he'd known that the Princess had always liked as more than she should have and Merrick would admit that there was a time he had liked her, too. But he had been sworn to protect her, it wouldn't have been proper for him, as her sworn protector, to have a relationship with her. It'd hurt him down to his very core to deny her the chance at love that she had always wanted. Then came that fateful day when Master Org had attacked and the final battle had been launched. He and the other ancient warriors had sent the Princess into a deep sleep and sent the Animarium up into the sky for protection. Merrick had sworn to return to her one day but he'd gotten his hands on that cursed wolf mask and it had changed his life, imprisoning him for 3,000 years and costing him everything he'd known.

When he'd been awakened it was like everything had changed. He wanted revenge for being imprisoned for so long but he wasn't exactly sure why. Then there were the nights when the full moon allowed him to be his human self and he was bathe in the lake and just stare up at the stars, admiring the beauty of nature and it made him think twice about wanting to destroy everything around him. Once he'd saved Alyssa he knew the others would figure out sooner or later that he was human and not actually a duke org.

Then he'd been freed completely from Zen-aku's curse. He'd been so used to being alone for so long that he'd ran away several times when the others had tried to befriend him. He wasn't sure if he'd been running away because they'd wanted to befriend him after he'd tried to kill them or if it was because he knew that they'd ultimately lead him back to the Princess and he didn't want another run in with her, not after last time. So he'd avoided him. Until the next battle when he'd jumped in front of Merrick to protect him from a blow that the org had been about to deal him. Cole had yelled at him about how they were a team, they were fighting on the same side and they needed to work together. Merrick had been about ready to run away again until he'd looked up into the jungle boy's chocolate brown eyes and instantly had melted. Everything seemed to change right then and there, including the way he now felt about Princess Shayla. He still had feelings for her, of course he always would, but he also still thought of himself as her protector, never having actually finished his duty of protecting her before the final battle had taken place. Maybe Cole was just what he needed to get over his insecurities. After all, it had been the jungle boy who'd made him see that he wasn't alone, that he had friends who cared about him and wanted to help him and fight alongside him. And for that, Merrick would forever be grateful.

But he was still curious as to how Princess Shayla had found out, or even if she had. She was very intuitive and seemed to always know everything the rangers did, sometimes even before they did it. Maybe she'd hadn't overheard him confess his feelings for the red ranger, but simply could see it in his eyes? That was Merrick's one weakness, his eyes gave away everything he was feeling; and if there was one person in the world who had always been able to read him, it was definitely Princess Shayla.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Once again, I am terribly sorry for the delay in chapters, up until last night I had absolutely nothing to work with. Once again, a huge thanks goes out to my two betas; Romanticpuck and PernDragonrider. As always, please read and review.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own the Power Rangers, a bunch of people more talented than me own them.**

**Chapter Six**

Merrick was relaxing down by the lake, enjoying the cool breeze that was floating around him. Merrick cocked his head slightly, trying to understand what the breeze was telling him. He could read the wind better than anything; it had been the wind that told him 3,000 years ago that the final battle was approaching and that Princess Shayla was in trouble. The wind was telling him something now but he wasn't sure what it was. There hadn't been any org attacks in two or three days, something Merrick found odd – then again, they were probably just regrouping their forces and coming up with a different plan of attack. Not that it would help them much, Merrick had decided.

He paused and turned suddenly when he heard footsteps coming through the trees. "Who are you? Show yourself!" he demanded.

"Testy are we today, Merrick?" came Cole's voice as he joined the lunar ranger on the bank.

Merrick frowned. "Cole? What are you doing here?"

"I was coming to see if you were alright." Cole told him. "You've been a bit on edge lately and I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He frowned and gently placed a hand on the other ranger's shoulder. "Are you okay, Merrick? I'm worried about you."

Merrick smiled. "Don't be." he assured the other man. "I'm fine Cole, I promise. It's you I'm worried about; you were unconscious for two days after a concussion you suffered when you were pushed into the water. Are YOU okay?"

Cole nodded. "I've never felt better, Merrick. By the way, did we ever find out what it was that pushed me into the lake that day?"

"Princess Shayla thinks it was an org of some sort, but none have come forward and there haven't been any attacks in a couple days." Merrick told him. "It's almost as if it was an invisible force that pushed you in."

Cole remained silent for a couple minutes, thinking. "Maybe it was." He said thoughtfully. "An org, I mean. But one that can turn invisible. Maybe that's why I didn't see it when it pushed me in or why you didn't see anything after it happened. It is possible Merrick, especially after everything we've seen lately. I wouldn't be surprised."

Merrick just nodded, not saying anything for a couple minutes, then turned his full attention to the red ranger. "I was scared to death when I saw you get shoved in, Cole. When you didn't come up right away, I couldn't move, I just stood there frozen. After a couple minutes I went under to find you and by the time I got you back to the surface, I really thought you were dead. You weren't responding to anything around you. So I picked you up and ran all the way back to the Animaria with you."

"And if it wasn't for you," Cole told him, moving closer to him, "I wouldn't be alive right now. And I want to thank you for that, Merrick." He smiled and chuckled suddenly. "You know, it's funny. I never actually believed what they said about coma victims being able to hear when people are talking to them. But it's true."

"Oh. Really?" Merrick asked casually, raising an eyebrow.

Cole nodded. "Yes." He said, chuckling. "And you're just trying to play dumb with me now, Merrick. I heard everything you said back on the Animarium."

"What exactly did you hear?" Merrick asked.

"Oh, just about everything. How I helped you through everything, how nobody's ever done for you what I did the other night, and how you like me but didn't know it until just recently." he smiles expectantly at the other man. "Well? Are those things true or are you going to try and deny them now?"

Merrick shook his head. "No." He said softly. "I meant every word I said, Cole." Before he had a chance to say anything else, he was taken off guard when he felt lips claiming his own. He looked up into the brown eyes of the red ranger, questioning in confusion.

Cole's own eyes had a look of both surprise and confusion. A couple minutes he later he broke the kiss and pulled back, turning away, embarrassed. "I'm sorry." He said softly. "I don't know what came over me."

"I rather enjoyed it." Merrick told him.

Cole turned slowly, a small smile gracing his face. "You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that." He admitted.

"Really?" Merrick asked, walking over to stand beside him. "Why didn't you ever say anything before?"

Cole shrugged. "Where I come from, it's not very easy to have feelings like this," He explained to Merrick. "It wasn't very easy to show your feelings even if you did have them. From birth, everyone in the village is already 'married' to someone. Including me, but when I was actually old enough to realize it, I decided I didn't want to be forced to 'marry' someone. I guess you could say I was the rebel of the village. Anyway, I realized eventually that my feelings weren't towards the women of the village but the men. And then I realized I couldn't say anything because having feelings for a man other than respect was forbidden. So I didn't say anything. But once I left and came to the Animarium, I couldn't deny those feelings any longer, especially after I saw you."

"What will the others think?" Merrick asked, his voice quiet.

Cole shrugged. "Who knows." he said. "I suspect Princess Shayla already knows, especially after what she was telling me. Alyssa and Taylor, who knows. Max and Danny," he gives Merrick a little wink. "I think there's more going on between our black and blue friends than they care to let on." he shrugs and wraps his arms around Merrick, pulling the other man closer. "But seriously Merrick. We'll deal with that when the time comes."

Merrick didn't say anything, just nodded in response. He brought his lips closer to Cole's, then screamed suddenly when the red ranger disappeared.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Once again I am terribly sorry for the delay in between chapters. I have been busy job hunting and my laptop was gone for a couple days due to a needed fixing not to mention all my muses seem to have gone on spring break about three weeks too late. But alas, here is a chapter for you. Cole will make an appearance in the next chapter but in order to work up with that I needed a battle scene, hence the point in this chapter. Thanks for being patient with me and once again, thanks for your reviews! Keep reviewing, reviews are an author's best friend! Also, this chapter hasn't been beta'd so any mistakes you see are mine and mine alone.**

**Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Power Rangers, they belong to Disney and other people a lot more talented than me, I am using them solely for entertainment purposes only. **

"Hey org," Danny shouted, running at him from behind. "How do you like THIS?"

The org was thrown backward with a loud OOMPH and a glare at the young blue ranger. "I don't." he said. "I will still defeat you. What can you do, you are a ranger short."

"We may be a ranger short, but we can still destroy you." Alyssa said. "There are five of us and only one of you."

The org smirked. "That's what you think, little girl." Within a blink of an eye the org duplicated himself. Standing in front of them was not one, not two, but six different aspects of the same org.

"Uh – what do we do now?" Danny asked nervously. "Anybody have any ideas?"

"We do what we always do." Taylor said, raising her crystal saber skyward, the others following suit. "We call on our zords. Wild zords, descend!"

The thundering and thumping of six different zords could be heard as they thundered out of the sky and launched themselves at the orgs. The Red Lion sank his teeth around the org's arm, lifting him into the air and shaking him.

"Put me down you metal-headed mutt!" the org cried.

The Red Lion just roared in response and sent the org flying about five feet.

"Go Red Lion!" the other rangers cheered but it was too soon to celebrate just yet. Before they could even blink an eye, the six different org aspects combined to form one gigantic org, bigger than they'd fought before.

"Wild Zords, combine!" the rangers called out but nothing happened.

"What's wrong with our zords?" Max cried out in surprise.

"I've frozen them, rangers." the org told them, taking a giant thundering footstep towards them. "Now they will be under my command and my command alone." Almost as soon as he said that the Elephant Zord's trunk came right for them, barely giving the rangers time to dodge it.

"We need Cole!" Taylor cried, cart-wheeling to one side to avoid being hit by the elephant's trunk.

"No we don't!" Alyssa called back, also cart-wheeling to the side to avoid the trunk. "Just think; what would Cole want us to do if he was here?"

Merrick, who was swiping at the elephant's trunk with his saber, turned slightly to stare at her. A small smile came to his lips. "He'd want us to destroy it, with or without him. Come on guys. Let's do this for Cole."

"For Cole!" the others cried in sync.

"Soaring Eagle!" Taylor called, striking her pose.

"Surging Shark!" Max called out.

"Noble Tiger!" Alyssa followed suit.

"Iron Bison!" Called Danny, also taking his pose.

"Howling Wolf!" Merrick yelled out for all to hear, then looked at the others, who nodded. "Power Rangers, Wild Force!" All five rangers started running at the org from a different direction.

"How nice." said the org, knocking Max backward. "But still not enough to defeat me. YOU are the great protectors of the Wild Zords? Then show me something."

"Max!" Danny cried, running over to his friend. "Come on little buddy, get up. Never. Give. Up!"

"Never give up!" Max repeated, jumping to his feet, running straight at the org with his fighting fins straight out in front of him.

"He's too strong!" Taylor called as she went colliding into Alyssa, her arms flailing out around her.

"Rangers, retreat to the Animarium." came Princess Shayla's voice from their morphers.

- - - - -

"What was that thing, Princess?" Alyssa asked, wincing as Princess Shayla applied pressure to the wound she was currently attending to.

"I am not sure Alyssa." Princess Shayla replied with a frown on her face. "He is stronger than most orgs I have seen. But there is something different about him at the same time."

"Different how?" Max inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I am not sure." the Princess responded again. "But something is telling me that this is the same org that put Cole out of commission. He is too strong for you to fight on your own."

"We need Cole." Merrick spoke up quietly from the corner where he was attending to an edgy Danny's wound.

"Yes you do." Princess Shayla agreed. "And tomorrow you shall have him. He needs to sleep for another day, to regain the rest of his strength that was taken from him when he drowned but he will be awake tomorrow. He has awaken a couple times during the fight and was monitoring it with me, wanting to join but I had to keep him from coming to your aid. It was he who sent the Red Lion Zord to aid you in the battle."

Alyssa smiled. "Leave it to Cole." she said. She winced again as Princess Shayla finished attending to her wound.

"Get some rest rangers." the Princess told them. "I have the feeling you will need it. I have a feeling that you will awakened sooner than you might expect."

"I second that." Merrick said, finished with Danny's wound and getting to his feet. Without another word he walked into the room that he shared with Cole and sat down on the bed beside him, smoothing his hair back from his forehead. "We needed you out there today Cole." he said quietly. "We almost lost it out there, that org was stronger than any of the others we've fought before." he sighed and placed a gentle kiss on the red ranger's forehead. "Get some rest, Cole. Sleep tight." With that, the lunar ranger got to his feet and quietly walked over to his own bed.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I am once again terribly sorry for the delay in getting chapters out. I have exams coming up at the end of the month and so studying and real life have become the daily routine now. Not to mention I had no idea where to go but I find that once I start typing the story just flows out. So I hope you enjoy this chapter and there will probably be delays in the end until at least the first of May, once school and exams get done, then I hope to get the rest of the story done and posted up. **

**Disclaimer: Of course, I own none of these characters, I am using them for entertainment purposes only. Don't sue, I am a poor college student and the most you'll get from me is a penny. And all flames will go to heat my non-existent fireplace. **

Merrick sat on his bed, just staring into space and thinking. How were they going to defeat that org? The elephant zord had been frozen, along with the armadillo and bear zords. And without Cole, they were pretty much out for the count. Cole was their leader, he was the strongest and as such, he always knew what to do in this type of situation.

"Staring at the wall isn't going to help you make a decision any faster." a voice started Merrick out of his thoughts.

Merrick looked up, frowning in confusion when he heard Cole's voice. "When did you wake up?"

"Not too long ago." Cole answered him. "Just long enough to watch you stare at the ceiling hoping for some answers to defeat that org. Was it that difficult?"

"You have no idea." Merrick answered him. "He froze the elephant, armadillo and bear zords. We were attacked by our own zords!" he said.

"Can't say it hasn't happened before." Cole told him. "But there's got to be something we can do, we just need to hang in there." he glanced up at Merrick casually. "But now that I'm awake, there's something we need to talk about." he said.

"What's that?" Merrick asked, even though he had an idea of what it was about.

"Us," said Cole. "I heard everything you said to me the other day while I was still suffering from that concussion. Why didn't you ever tell me sooner?" he asked questioningly.

Merrick sighed and ran a hair through his hair, trying to figure out how to answer the question. "I wasn't sure of my own feelings." he finally said truthfully. "I mean – you know that I've always had feelings for Princess Shayla but I couldn't ever form a relationship with her because I was sworn to protect her. Well, to make a long story short, shortly after I laid eyes on you, I couldn't take my eyes off you, I guess is the right thing to say." he said, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

Cole chuckled and nodded. "I understand what you mean." he said. "The village I grew up in, it was pretty much chosen from birth, sometimes even before that, who you would marry. Well, since I wasn't born in the village but raised there, I followed the same social rules. However, before they could make me marry the person they 'chose' from me, I rebelled and told them they were going to let me make my own decisions about my future and who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."

"I know." Merrick told him, smiling shyly.

"You do?" Cole asked, raising an eyebrow. "How? I've never told this to anyone before."

"You told me this in a dream." Merrick admitted, his feet suddenly becoming very interesting to him.

"A dream, huh?" Cole asked, smiling. "So you're dreaming about me already?"

"Not just you!" Merrick answered quickly. "Max, Danny, Alyssa and Taylor appeared in a dream, along with a bunch of orgs."

Cole chuckled. "It's okay, Merrick." he said. "Because truth be told, I've been dreaming about you, too. In fact, I think I've been dreaming about you since before I even met you, if that makes sense."

"Yes," said Merrick,smiling. "In fact, I think it does. Because even though I'm from way before your time, I think I've been dreaming about you, too. Every night before the final battle I would always dream about someone that looked exactly like you, in a moment just like this. Of course, those dreams always ended the same...with you walking away from me and telling me you never wanted to see me again."

"Now why would I do that?" Cole asked, smiling as he got up and walked over to Merrick.

Merrick shrugged. "I don't know exactly." he said. "Maybe because you don't feel the same way?"

"Who says I don't?" Cole responded and before letting the lunar ranger respond, pressed his lips against the other man's.

Merrick moaned into the kiss before breaking apart and pulling back, staring at Cole, his unspoken question clearly showing in his eyes.

"That should answer your question." Cole answered the unspoken question swimming around in the other man's eyes. "I am not going to run away from you, Merrick. I couldn't when you were Zen-aku and I can't, won't, now, no matter what you do to try to get rid of me." he said.

Merrick just smiled, the shock in his eyes now clearly expressed on his face as he kissed the red ranger again in response.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Woot! School ends this week, I've only got one exam and a lot more free time on my hands. This story, believe it or not, is almost finished (in my head, anyway) I just need to finish typing it out. This chapter has been typed out for awhile I just needed to finish it and post it up. Once again, thanks to my loyal reviewers! I also just wanted to add that I absolutely love Phillip Jean-Marie's (Max) role on Passions, he took it to a whole new level! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they belong to Saban and Disney. Don't sue, I'm a poor college student who needs to sell her books back just to get money. **

The next morning saw the rangers just lounging around the Animarium. It was an extremely quiet day and for once, there were no org attacks in sight.

"So Merrick," Danny spoke up suddenly, "What happened between you and Cole?"

"What do you mean?" Merrick asked, frowning slightly and wondering just how much they knew.

Max chuckled. "You can't hide it from us, dude." he said. "Danny and I overheard you and Cole talking yesterday."

"So then why did you ask me?" Merrick asked. "If you knew all along?"

"They wanted to see what you'd say." Alyssa spoke up from where she was lying on her stomach, one of her text books open and finishing her homework.

"Which brings up another point; why you didn't ever tell us." Taylor said. "Last we knew you were still smitten over Princess Shayla."

Merrick sighed. "I didn't want to say anything because I didn't know how you guys would react." he admitted to them.

"We're your friends, man." Max told him. "Why wouldn't we be accepting?"

"I'm from a different time as you, Max." Merrick told him gently. "People in my time were not as accepting as people are in your time. I guess you can say that I am still living in the past."

Taylor nodded understandingly. "I can understand that," she said. "But Merrick, we're your friends and you can always tell us anything, okay?"

Merrick smiled. "Thanks Taylor, I appreciate that." he said, as Cole suddenly joined them, back from his morning conversation with his Lion zord.

"What's going on?" Cole asked. "Everyone looks like they've just been attacked by an org suddenly."

Alyssa chuckled and glanced up from her book. "You're busted." she told him.

"Busted? What do you mean busted?" Cole asked, frowning.

"She means, we know about you and Merrick." Danny spoke up. "Max and I overheard the two of you talking yesterday."

"And?" Cole asked, expecting a lecture, or at the very least, his friends to all get up and walk away. Which is why he was so surprised when they did just the opposite and Alyssa and Taylor hugged him while Danny and Max shook his hand and clapped him on the shoulder.

"And it's about time." Alyssa said, smiling. "We were wondering how long it would take the two of you to admit your feelings for each other."

"You mean, you knew all along?" Cole asked, looking to Merrick who just shrugged and looked just as confused.

"YES!" the four cried out together, then Alyssa smiled. "We were actually starting to devise a plan to lock you in a closet or something until you both admitted your feelings. God and here I thought TAYLOR was the stubborn one!"

"Then if you knew, why didn't you say anything?" Cole asked, frowning.

"Because it was none of our business." Max spoke up. "If you want to know honestly. We wanted to wait until you decided to tell us, we didn't want to pressure you into anything. But we do want to offer a congratulations because you both deserve each other. Maybe now Merrick will stop moping around the Animarium so much."

"Hey!" Merrick protested, frowning at the younger boy. "I don't mope."

"Actually you do." said Taylor. "But that doesn't matter right now. I'm getting hungry."

"While you guys are making dinner, I'm going for a walk." Cole announced, abruptly getting up and walking away.

Without a word, Merrick soundlessly got up and followed after the red ranger.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sorry for the delay in chapters. I an officially out of school now and in the process of moving out of town for the summer. This is one of the last few chapters, or at least I'm planning on it being one of the last few chapters. Keep in mind this chapter hasn't been beta'd so any mistakes are my own. I'd just like to add that I absolutely love Philip Jean-Marie on Passions. For anyone who hasn't seen him on there, you should check it out, he fits right in the cast. As always, please read and review. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own the show, using it for entertainment purposes only. A lot of people more talented than me own the show, I am not making any money off of them. I am a poor college student. **

Merrick caught up with Cole a little ways away by the lake. "Hey," he said, coming up behind him. "Is something wrong?"

Cole sighed and shook his head. "No." he said, even though it was obvious that he was lying.

Merrick sighed and sat down next to him. "I'm the king of lies, Cole. I've lied to all of you several times. You can't lie to me and tell me nothing is wrong when clearly it is. Now what is it?" he asked.

"Everyone knowing." said Cole, running a hand through his hair. "Was I that out of the loop that I was the only one who literally didn't know my own feelings?"

Merrick shook his head. "Not out of the loop, you were unconscious and in a coma, my friend. You heard me, heard what I had to tell you but were unable to respond. The others – I didn't know it but they heard me too, apparently they were eavesdropping or something. I couldn't lie to him, Cole, because lying to them would have meant lying to myself."

Cole nodded. "I know." he said. "I don't mind that they know but dammit, I don't like to be told how I feel about other people, Merrick, I like to make my own decisions. I already knew what I felt about you and...I don't know, I guess it just annoyed me that the others were telling me how I felt as if I couldn't make my own decisions."

"Well, we're alone now and you can make your own decisions, whatever you want." Merrick told him. "So what are you thinking about?"

"Where do we go from here?" Cole asked him. "I – I'd like to take you home with me eventually but where I grew up – they don't believe in this kind of stuff, Merrick. It's sad but it's true. In the jungle, they arrange your marriages and usually, if you don't marry the person they pick out for you, you get kicked out of the village. Eventually I want to go back home but I'm just scared about what the village leader would do if I showed up with a guy on my arm instead of a woman."

Merrick frowned at that. "Are you ashamed of me?" he asked. "Because if you are Cole...maybe this isn't the right thing for either one of us to be doing..." he trailed off, frowning.

Cole shook his head fiercely. "Absolutely not, Merrick." he said. "I am not nor will I ever be ashamed of you. You can't help who you fall in love with or change it and I wouldn't want to change it. I want YOU Merrick and nobody else. Do you understand me?"

Merrick nodded and smiled. "Yes," he said. "I've always known that Cole, I just thought that you needed to hear yourself say that, to confirm your feelings, if that makes any sense." he smiled and opened his arms, motioning for Merrick to join him. Once he did, Cole wrapped the lunar ranger in a hug, laying his head on the other man's shoulder. "I love you, Merrick. Nothing is going to change that, no matter what." he said softly.

Merrick smiled and kissed the back of Cole's neck. "I love you too, Cole Evans. And no matter what your village does or whatever it is where you live, nothing is going to tear us apart, okay Cole?"

Cole nodded; he just hoped that Merrick was right. "Okay." he said, deciding not to dwell on the subject anymore. Whatever happened, happened, right? Right, he decided. He kissed the back of Merrick's neck and trailed his hands gently down the other man's back.

Cole's touch sent shivers down Merrick's back but he relished in the touch. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes and within a couple moments he was asleep.


	11. Epilogue

**A/N: Once again I am terribly sorry for the delay in chapters. This is the last chapter of this story; I hadn't intended it to be but my muse just seemed to have run out of ideas for this story and this popped into my mind last night. With Christmas just two days away, I wanted to give this story a fun, Christmas ending and this is what my muse came up with. So I hope everyone enjoys this chapter, thanks for the wonderful reviews I received for this story and I want to wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!**

Three Months Later

It was Christmas time on the Animarium. Snow was falling down around the rangers, courtesy of Princess Shayla and the Wild Zords had retreated to a cave to get away from the unfamiliar white stuff that was taking over their green landscape.

"You know what we should do this year?" Max suggested, looking around at the group.

"What's that?" Cole asked, glancing up from where he was running his fingers gently down Merrick's hand.

"Secret Santa." the blue ranger suggested, a gleam in his eye. "I mean seriously, it'd be fun! My family used to do it all the time at Christmas. You put everyone's name in a hat and draw it out and you buy for the person you choose, except that you can't tell them until Christmas day that you had their name."

"It might be fun." Merrick spoke up. "I never used to have a reason to actually celebrate Christmas, but I think this year is different." he said, smiling at Cole, who he had officially been dating for the last three months now. Ever since the day Merrick had gone after him when Cole had walked off after finding out his friends had known about his feelings before he'd even known about them.

"Then let's do it." Alyssa said, tearing a sheet of paper out of her notebook and writing everyone's name down on it. Then she put then into Max's hat and swirled it around a couple times to mix the names up and handed it to Danny, letting him draw first.

Danny drew first and opened his paper to reveal that he was buying for Taylor He frowned slightly, wondering what on earth he was going to get her that she would actually like. The former Air Force pilot was hard to please even when she was at her best, but he would figure out something, he always did.

Max drew next and was buying for Danny. He smiled as he refolded the paper and slipped it into his pocket. He knew just what to buy for his friend.

After Alyssa drew, buying for Max and Taylor drew, buying for Alyssa, that left three papers left, Cole, Merrick and Princess Shayla. While they were looking away, Alyssa carefully slipped Princess Shayla's paper out of the hat and then offered it to Cole, a smile on her face as she watched as he drew the paper and then handed the hat to Merrick. She glanced around at the group and caught the smiles from the Princess, Max, Danny and Taylor as they had realized what she had done. She just hoped Cole and Merrick would not realize.

----

Christmas morning found the rangers waking about as early as Cole normally woke and trudging out in the barely lit Animarium still in their pajamas. Princess Shayla, who hardly ever slept while her rangers were sleeping, had already been up for hours and had surprised the rangers with breakfast waiting for them. She smiled when they came out.

"Good morning and Merry Christmas!" she said happily.

"Morning." 5 voices replied tiredly in unison. The only one of the group that was fully awake asides from the princess was Cole, who sat down with a huge smile on his face.

"Morning Princess and Merry Christmas." he said, tugging Merrick down into the seat beside him.

"Eat up." she said, taking a seat next to them. "Then you can open your gifts." She waved her hand to a tree that none of the rangers had remembered being there before, all decorated and with a pile of gifts underneath, neatly wrapped.

"Princess, when did you have time to do this?" Taylor asked in awe as she took a bite of the breakfast. It was delicious!

Princess Shayla smiled. "There are things you do not know about me Taylor." she said mysteriously. "And things you shall find out in time when I am ready for you to know. For now, suffice it to say that I have always loved Christmas but like Merrick, had no reason to celebrate it until recently."

"This is delicious Princess Shayla." Max said, biting into the eggs she had made and then taking a drink of the hot cider she had poured for each of them.

After they finished eating, it was like excited children in a candy store as the food was suddenly abandoned and the rangers had scurried over to the tree and sat down in front of it, dragging a laughing Princess Shayla with them, who handed out first the gifts she had given each of them, which were miniature versions of their animal crystals that they could wear around their necks. Then she handed out the Secret Santa gifts.

"The first is from Danny, to Taylor." she said as she handed Taylor the yellow package.

Taylor opened it to find a mini version of the F-14 bomber, her favorite plane and one she'd been wanting to get for a long time but had never seemed to be able to. She smiled at Danny and hugged him. "Thanks, Danny. I love it."

"The next is from Max, to Danny." Princess Shayla said as she handed Danny a package wrapped in black.

Danny opened it to find a bunch of seed packages for the garden he had been working on back home, before he'd been taken to the Animarium, and had hoped to get back to one day. There was also a new watering can and a gardening book that Danny had had his eye on the last time he and Max had been in the bookstore.

"Max, this is awesome! Thank you!" Danny said, flashing a smile at his friend.

"The next is from Alyssa, to Max." Princess Shayla said as she handed Max a package wrapped in blue.

Max opened it to find a glass figurine of his surging shark that actually looked as if it was diving into the water. Alyssa really knew his fondness for his animal crystal. She had also gotten him a book titled "Idiots Guide to Bowling", which he couldn't help but chuckle at. Before he had become a ranger Max had been on his way to becoming the youngest professional bowler. The others still liked to tease him about it sometimes. "Thanks Alyssa. I love it." he said, smiling at her.

"From Taylor, to Alyssa." The Princess said, handing Alyssa a package wrapped in white.

When Alyssa opened it she found several things that only Taylor had known she would like. A statue of a white tiger with cubs surrounding it (a joke amongst her and Taylor about how Alyssa was like a mother tiger watching over her cubs) and several day planners and other things that would help her in her aspiration of becoming a teacher. "Thanks Taylor." she said, smiling at her friend.

Princess Shayla exchanged smiles with the others as they came to the last two. It was obvious now that it had been a trick.

"From Merrick to Cole." Princess Shayla said, trying to keep a straight face as she handed Cole a red wrapped package.

Cole averted his gaze from the rest of his friends, knowing that he and Merrick had been set up but having to hand it to them at the way they had gone about it. When he opened the package he found a statue that identically resembled his red lion, surrounded by a wolf who was howling at the moon who he knew all to well had to be Merrick.

When Merrick opened his package, he was surprised to have found a hand carved flute that had been painted red with a hint of white. Tucked underneath the tissue paper was a book titled "Billiards for Dummies" that he had to laugh at. Cole must had run into Alyssa at the bookstore as they were buying the books. It was a running joke amongst his friends that at 3,000 years old, he was a billiards master, when pool, or at least the pool they knew today, hadn't been invented during his time. It figured Cole would find something like this book funny and truth be told, Merrick did to. It would serve Cole better to read through the book because every time they played pool, Merrick kicked the red ranger's butt ten times over.

Their eyes met at exactly the same time, grins breaking out on both their faces. "Thanks." they said in unison.

"Where did you learn how to carve like this?" Merrick asked, holding the flute gently in his hands as if he thought it would break.

"In the village I grew up in." Cole told him. "Princess Shayla said you always loved to play the flute and I wanted to make something special for you and thought you'd like that." he said.

Merrick smiled and hugged him. "Well, thank you. I do, I love it." he said.

The others joined in the hug, pulling Princess Shayla into the middle of it.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" they all shouted in unison, snow falling down around them.


End file.
